Shultz and Aquino Hint That Accord on U.S. Bases in Philippines Is Near

Philippine President Corazon Aquino and Secretary of State George P. Shultz indicated Tuesday that the way has been cleared for the United States to retain its two key military bases in the Philippines for the next three years.

After meeting with Shultz at the presidential palace, Aquino told reporters, “We both hope that the talks (on the bases) will be over by the end of this month.”

Shultz and Philippine Foreign Secretary Raul Manglapus, a staunch critic of the American military presence here, expressed similar optimism. Shultz said he had “all the reason in the world to think we’ll be able to work something out.”

Neither U.S. nor Philippine officials would discuss the details of the agreement, but it would almost certainly include U.S. compensation greater than the $180 million a year that the United States agreed to pay five years ago under an agreement with the government of President Ferdinand E. Marcos.

According to officials on both sides, it is expected to include a series of additional benefits for the Philippines, such as special trading privileges for Philippine goods in the U.S. market.

Next Round in 1990

A new agreement will still leave unsettled the long-range future of the two U.S. military installations--Clark Air Base and Subic Bay Naval Station. This question will have to be resolved by the next U.S. president, probably in a new round of negotiations in 1990.

Philippine nationalists have been suggesting that it is time to put an end to the U.S. military presence here, which began when the Navy steamed into Manila Harbor in 1898. Philippine legislators have been urging restrictions on the transit or storage of nuclear weapons on the bases. Manglapus has suggested that the United States is paying entirely too little for use of the bases and suggested a figure of $2 billion to $3 billion.

Last month Shultz, clearly irritated, complained to Congress that the Philippine officials were asking for “a staggering amount of money,” adding, “If that’s their view, we’ll have to find some other place to have our ships and planes.”

But, on Tuesday, even Manglapus, whose anti-American rhetoric has irritated U.S. officials, seemed buoyed by his talks with Shultz.

“The discussions were positive and could be regarded as conducive to our achieving the goal that we’ve been aiming at all this time, of ending the talks and accomplishing an agreement within the next few weeks,” he told reporters.

Philippine and American sources said that one reason Tuesday’s talks went so well is that both sides agreed to stick to a narrow, short-term agreement and put aside the broader questions.

There were hints that the new agreement will provide a generous financial package for the Philippines in exchange for legislators in Manila softening a measure before them that would ban nuclear weapons from Philippine territory.

“We told Shultz that the outcome of the review would have a lot to do with the fate of the nuclear bill,” said Ramon Mitra, Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives.

According to Philippine sources, Manglapus told Shultz that Manila might be willing to accept the U.S. position of neither confirming nor denying the presence of nuclear weapons in order to secure a short-term agreement on the future of the bases.

Military Presence Opposed

Some Philippine legislators made it clear that they remain opposed to the U.S. military presence here.

“I want the bases out by the end of 1991,” Sen. Rene Saguisag said. “. . . At some point, we have to just stand on our own two feet. We have to grow out of our innocence.”

According to Saguisag, Shultz told a group of Philippine legislators at a meeting Tuesday that “some of the things we say here make people in Washington fall out of their chairs.”

But for the time being, the conflicts between Philippine nationalism and U.S. global strategy seem to have been set aside. They were overshadowed by the personal warmth between Shultz and Aquino, who met for 45 minutes in an atmosphere of what one Aquino aide described as “real friendship.”

Reflecting the optimistic tone on both sides after the meeting, the aide said the only mention of the bases issue was a brief comment on the positive tone of Shultz’s earlier meeting with Manglapus.

In an emotional luncheon toast, Shultz, who is on an official tour of Asia, heaped praise on Aquino, saying, “With all my heart and our love, we wish you every success.”